Undefeated season moves Oregon to No. 1 in Week 7 of ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

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Undefeated season moves Oregon to No. 1 in Week 7 of ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

March 28, 2017

Oklahoma City, OK - - Undefeated season moves Oregon to No. 1 in Week 7 of ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

OKLAHOMA CITY â€” Riding on a 29-game win streak, the Oregon Ducks (29-0) continue their undefeated season and earn this weekâ€™s No. 1 ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, USA Softball announced today. The race for the top spot continues to grow tighter as only 10 points separate the No. 1 and No. 3 teams, while first-place votes were distributed amongst the top four teams. Oregon and No. 2 Florida (29-1) both claimed eight first-place votes apiece, while No. 3 Florida State (32-1-1) and No. 4 Arizona (32-1) spit the remaining four evenly and collected two apiece.

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Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

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Being the only undefeated team in NCAA Softball was enough to help Oregon move two spots to No. 1 this week following a 2-0 showing in their doubleheader against then-No. 13 Utah (21-7) to clinch the series victory.Â Following a cancellation of the final game in their three-game series Monday to start Week 8 of play, Oregon will return home to play a solo game against BYU, who received votes in this weekâ€™s poll, Thursday prior to welcoming No. 23 Arizona State (23-8) to Jane Sanders Stadium.

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Florida slips to No. 2 after finishing Week 7 of NCAA Softball play with a 3-0 record, which included a mid-week 8-0 shutout against USF before claiming two straight victories over then-No. 7 Auburn (27-5) to secure the series win. The Gators have already begun Week 8 of play, dropping the final game of their three-game series against Auburn, 1-0, yesterday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Florida will return to action with a midweek contest against Bethune-Cookman March 29, before hitting the road for an Southeastern Conference (SEC) matchup against No. 24 Arkansas (22-9).

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Florida State drops to No. 3 despite collecting four wins over the week of play, including a solo 4-0 shutout over UCF and a series sweep over Virginia with all three decided via run-rule. Backed by a solid performance in the circle, the Seminoles outscored the Cavaliers 31-1 and moved to 32-1-1 on the season with an unblemished 12-0 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) record. Florida State will return home and continue ACC play with a three-game series against Pittsburgh at JoAnne Graf Field over the weekend.

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No. 4 Arizona finished the week with a Pac-12 Conference series sweep over then-No. 5 Washington (26-6), improving their record to 32-1 on the season and giving the Wildcats their first 6-0 start to conference play since 2004. Outscoring the Huskies 20-2, Arizonaâ€™s performance was highlighted by a pitching staff in which the team allowed just two runs over the three-game series. Arizona continues their homestand with a doubleheader versus Grand Canyon Wednesday before traveling to Berkeley, Calif. for a three-game Pac-12 series against No. 22 California (19-8).

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No. 5 Texas A&M (28-3) joined the Top 5 this week after going 3-1 following a solo 15-0 shutout over Prairie View A&M before their weekend series win over Missouri. Next on the schedule, the Aggies face Texas State Wednesday at home before traveling to Columbia, S.C. for their three-game series against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

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Rounding out the Top 10: No. 6 Minnesota (28-2) moves up two spots after opening Big Ten Conference play and earning a series sweep over Nebraska; No. 7 Auburn went 2-1 in their SEC series against Florida; No. 8 Washington drops three spots after collecting two wins, 14-4 and 7-0, in their doubleheader against Grand Canyon before being swept by Arizona; No. 9 Alabama (30-4) went 2-1, finishing the weekend with a series win over South Carolina; No. 10 LSU (27-7) rejoined the Top 10 after going 4-0 on the week, including a series sweep of then-No. 15 Georgia (26-7).

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Joining the Top 25 this week is Ohio State (18-7), who earned a series sweep over Maryland on the road to open up Big Ten Conference play, while last weekâ€™s No. 25 North Carolina (26-8) fell out of the Top 25 after finishing the week 2-2, dropping a solo game against No. 19 Tennessee (26-5) before a 2-1 series win over North Carolina State.

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The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.

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About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nationâ€™s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million. Â USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch.Â USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships. Â The USA Softball umpire program is among the nationâ€™s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.

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About the NCAA Womenâ€™s College World SeriesÂ
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium â€“ OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Womenâ€™s College World Series (WCWS). For the 27^thÂ year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 1-7 Â in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2017 NCAA WCWS are on sale now,Â click hereÂ to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!

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